First Transgender man gives birth in Finland

A woman from Finland on Wednesday became nation’s first transgender man to give birth. The Finnish woman, who went under hormonal therapy has since triggered controversy as the law in Finland require infertility to change gender.

"The baby weighed nearly four kilogramme and was 53 centimetre in length (at birth)," the transgender man, who did not reveal the name to protect family privacy, told media after child’s birth.

The 30-year-old legally changed his gender from a woman in 2015 after spending years on testosterone therapy. But he cancelled his sex-change surgery to finish his physical transition to male, before trying to carry a child with his husband.

A person is required to give official evidence of their infertility in order to change legal gender from female to male, according to Finnish law for hormonal therapy.

Finnish medical units in practice mark their transgender patients as infertile, when the testosterone therapy has continued for a long time.

"Do I want the society to dictate what I can do with my body and my life? Nothing can stop me. I'm a free man," the man recalled in an earlier interview with one of Finland’s leading daily while still pregnant.

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Among the Nordic countries, Finland is the only remaining country to require infertility to change their legal gender, triggering extreme criticism from human rights organisations.

The man was granted paternal leave.